'Utmost' was proper term

From Grammar Gremlins by Don K. Ferguson,

Knoxville News Sentinel, Aug. 8, 2008

"It is with the up most regret that I announce the closing of our branch office," read a memo distributed by a company.
There are two problems with this use of "up most."
First, it's spelled incorrectly. The correct form is "upmost," one word.
Second, it was used inappropriately in this instance.
The writer probably should have used "utmost," meaning "of the greatest intensity." ("Utmost" is more commonly used than the longer form, "uttermost.")
"Upmost" is an informal variant of "uppermost." Both mean "of the highest position or place." Example: The uppermost mountain peaks can be seen in the distance.

Jingoism -- belligerent foreign policy

From yesterday's Garner's Usage Tip of the Day:

jingoist; jingo.

The former has come to displace the latter as the agent noun corresponding to "jingoism." A "jingoist" is a belligerent patriot and nationalist who favors an aggressive foreign policy.

Its origin was a Victorian era pub & music hall song with the chorus--

We don't want to fight but by Jingo if we do

We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too

We've fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true

The Russians shall not have Constantinople.

The word almost always carries pejorative connotations -- e.g.:

o "You want every loser white supremacist, every mean-spirited neo-Nazi, every jerk jingoist out there?" James Coates, "Bait-and-Switch Works on the Web," Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale), 8 Sept. 1996, at G4.

o "The Duma's jingoists seem to care little that the obligations of START-2 are finely balanced." "Russia's Surly Answer to NATO," Economist (U.S. ed.), 1 Feb. 1997, at 47.

o "Many Serbs . . . escaped the war of the jingoists by fleeing or deserting." Peter Schneider, "The Writer Takes a Hike," New Republic, 3 Mar. 1997, at 34.

"Jingo" has pretty much been driven out, unless a pun is needed -- e.g.: "Jingo bells, jingo bells, jingoism all the way on MTV this season." "The Best of Cable & Satellite," Independent, 21 Dec. 1996, at 57. Otherwise, it appears mostly in the phrase "by jingo," a mild oath expressing affirmation or surprise {I'll do it, by jingo!}.

Connectives with a parallel series should be repeated when clearness requires

From the Century Handbook of Writing (1919):

37. Connectives that accompany a parallel series should be repeated when clearness requires.

Preposition to be repeated: He was regarded as a hero by all who had known him at school, and especially by his old school mates.

Sign of the infinitive ["to"] to be repeated: He wishes to join with those who love freedom and justice and to end needless suffering.

Conjunction to be repeated: Since he was know to have succeeded in earlier enterprises, though confronted by difficulties that would have taxed the ability of older men, and since his powers were now acknowledged to be mature, he was put in charge of the undertaking.

Pontificate - being a bridgemaker between here and the hereafter

pontificate (pon-TIF-i-kayt) verb intr.

To speak in a pompous and dogmatic manner.

[From Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare (to be an ecclesiastic), from ponti-, from pons (bridge) + facere (to make).]

So a pontifex (priest) was literally a bridge-maker between here and the hereafter. The verb pontificate comes from the reputation of a priest to speak bombastically.

This term ultimately originated from the Indo-European root pent- (to tread) that gave us other words such as English find, Dutch pad (path), French pont (bridge), and Russian sputnik (traveling companion).]

The word pontificate is pronounced as pon-TIF-i-kit when used as a noun to denote the office of a pontiff.

Ipso facto -- by the fact itself

(from www.wordsmith.org)

ipso facto (IP-so FAK-to) adverb
By the very fact or action. [Latin ipso facto (by the fact itself).]
The counterpart of this term is ipso jure, which means by reason of a particular law.

"'Spiritually, I'm a New Yorker,' [Norman Mailer] said. 'If you grow up in Brooklyn, you're a New Yorker ipso facto.'"
-- Colin Miner; Mailer on Bush, Obama & Writing; The Sun (New York); Jan 22, 2007.

Some 70s TV viewers might recall Archie Bunker's malapropist rendition of the expression above, "Ipso fatso..."

Select words with due regard to their connotation (power of suggestion)

From pp. 248-9 of the first edition (1941) of the Harbrace Handbook of English by University of Tennessee Professor John C. Hodges:

20 e (4) Select words with due regard to their connotation (power of suggestion).

Words are feelings, emotions, sensations, ideas. Some words, beside their literal meaning, have the power to suggest varied associations. They are surrounded, as it were, by an aura of feelings. They stir up unexplainable emotions, pleasant and unpleasant, and connect the present situation with something remote in consciousness. They seem to be an intrinsic part of ourselves, and are tied up with all our experiences. For instance, the word hearth, which literally means the floor of a fireplace, suggests in addition the fireside, warmth, safty, good cheer, a family and friends, and the home itself. Stove, on the other hand, is much poorer in suggestive power.

BARREN He sat musing by the stove.
RICHER He sat musing by the hearth.

BARREN Regas sells hot steaks.
RICHER Regas sells sizzling steaks.

BARREN The boat sailed close to the shore.
RICHER The boat hugged the shore.

BARREN The baby likes to play.
RICHER The baby is as playful as a kitten.

BARREN John entered the house quietly.
RICHER John sneaked into the house.

BARREN The man at the door is an unemployed person.
RICHER The man at the door is a tramp.

Exercise. Tell briefly what feelings, pleasant or unpleasant, come to you when you read the following words.
1. pig
2. Ford
3. Nazi
4. Sissy
5. duck
6. Fifth Avenue
7. TVA
8. flag
9. beans
10. justice
11. date
12. key
13. Rose Bowl
14. honey
15. liberty
16. Finland
17. expectorate
18. upper crust
19. New Orleans
20. sport
21. dog
22. dirty
23. propaganda
24. courage

Lacuna -- a blank space (like a lagoon)

From The New Yorker's 7/21 story "Making It: How Chicago shaped Obama":
"But his life in Chicago from 1991 until his victorious Senate campaign is a lacuna in his autobiography."

Lacuna -- [from Latin lacuna -- pool, pit, or gap; also the root of lagoon, from the French lagune and Italian laguna] pl. lacunae
1: a blank space or a missing part
2: a small cavity, pit or discontinuity in an anatomical structure